A climate study of Tolkien’s Middle Earth of the Lord of the Rings trilogy reveals some interesting intersections with “Modern Earth.” The places on Earth most similar in climate to the Shire include a small region in New Zealand as well as a part of Britain, while locations that are similar to Mordor fall in the southwest US and a central part of Australia.

The climatology of Middle Earth is examined in a paper released Friday by noted Middle Earth wizard and nature enthusiast Radagast the Brown (also the alias of the Cabot Institute of the University of Bristol), which draws conclusions about the various regions of Middle Earth based on descriptions in the books. For instance, Mordor and Haradwaith are very dry, while the highest precipitation occurs to the west of the Misty Mountains, where the Shire is located.

Based on a climate analysis of Middle Earth’s temperature and rainfall, Radagast maps the regions of the world with similar conditions to different parts of Middle Earth and sees where they overlap. Both New Zealand and England contain large regions with adequate rainfall and enough scattered instances of the right temperature to indicate that Lincolnshire and Leicestershire in the UK are Shire-like, as are (roughly) Gore and Alexandra in NZ.

Mordor’s climate, by contrast, is most similar to a band that wraps through the south of Australia, as well as a swath of Texas and Los Angeles, CA.

Actually I have always despised the tree hugging elves and the backward looking humans. Contrast that with the can do spirit and industrial development of the orks. Building a better world using technology instead of always pining about the better times before.

Actually I have always despised the tree hugging elves and the backward looking humans. Contrast that with the can do spirit and industrial development of the orks. Building a better world using technology instead of always pining about the better times before.

Tolkien was not a fan of technology. He saw how machines could be used for evil in WWI. There was no more perfect place to him than the simple English countryside.

Actually I have always despised the tree hugging elves and the backward looking humans. Contrast that with the can do spirit and industrial development of the orks. Building a better world using technology instead of always pining about the better times before.

Yeah, that's really the takeaway from the story isn't it? Technology: all good, no downsides.

Actually I have always despised the tree hugging elves and the backward looking humans. Contrast that with the can do spirit and industrial development of the orks. Building a better world using technology instead of always pining about the better times before.

I like to think this guy's one down vote is from Tolkien's ghost for spelling orc with a k.

Actually I have always despised the tree hugging elves and the backward looking humans. Contrast that with the can do spirit and industrial development of the orks. Building a better world using technology instead of always pining about the better times before.

Yeah, that's really the takeaway from the story isn't it? Technology: all good, no downsides.

I just thought he was having a laugh - like saying you prefer the clean lines of the industrial design of the Empire over that of the Rebels.

Funnily enough, Mordor was just ugly, the land itself was incredibly fertile. Orcs farm around the Sea of Núrnen and the crop yield is absolutely amazing. How else do you think Sauron maintained such large armies?

The climatology of Middle Earth is examined in a paper released Friday by noted Middle Earth wizard and nature enthusiast Radagast the Brown (also the alias of the Cabot Institute of the University of Bristol)

The undying lands were apart of ME when it was flat. That and Tolkien didn't spend much time describing the vegetation of the land as folks were too interested in making dwarves, killing trees and stealing silmarils.

Very appropriate to use New Zealand. In the LotR "super duper extended edition" DVD (first was the Theatrical release, then an extended one, and THEN the one after that that had even more material)... they used a spot in New Zealand as the set for the Shire. They planted shrubbery and did landscaping a year prior to get all of that prepared in time for the shoot when it would be all green and grown in.

Hahaha, before I read anything other than the article's header, I thought this was related to: a) Kim Dotcom escaping to the 'Shire' from USA, and b) Hell on Earth for people facing patent trolls in lawsuits, a.k.a. "Mordor", TX.